PORTSMOUTH — It might be another 96 years before the Green Alliance officially turns 100, but that's not stopping them from celebrating another kind of century mark. Last week, the Portsmouth-based "green business union" officially welcomed aboard Home Town Technology Consultants (HTTC), making them the 100th "Business partner" in four years to take the green plunge.

An impressive feat, to be sure -- one made all the more admirable by the economic circumstances surrounding the company since the very beginning. Launched in 2008 by environmental activist and journalist Sarah Brown, the GA's initial aims were simple: To connect green-minded consumers with local businesses committed to rendering their products, services, and operations more sustainable and through public relations, brand building and story-telling to help grow those same green businesses.

At the time, the GA's two cornerstone businesses, Simply Green Biofuels and Purely Organic Lawn Care, seemed to have little in common. What the two shared, however, would serve as the inspirational template for a movement that is helping change the face of Seacoast commerce.

"What the three of us quickly realized was that, even if they touted two totally different products and targeted different customer bases, the commonality of your business' green focus meant the two could effectively cross-promote," recalls Brown of those halcyon days. "Once we realized that, it became obvious that getting as many green businesses as possible would result in more customers for everyone involved."

Some high profile staples soon followed suit, with the Portsmouth Brewery, Acorn Organic Salon, Cornerstone Tree Care, Bob's Clam Hut, and SEA Solar Store making up the GA's early vanguard. By 2009, the GA counted 30 partnering businesses in its ranks. By early 2012, that number had nearly tripled, as local businesses from across industries and sectors -- everything from restaurants to construction companies, yoga studios to alternative energy outfits, retailers to nonprofit organizations -- answered the Seacoast's green clarion call.

"It's hard to believe that just a few years ago we were all working out of couches in my living room," says Brown. "But at the same time we all felt that the Seacoast was one of those unique regions that would be receptive to this kind of creative collaboration between businesses and the community, and luckily we've been proven right so far."

That's not to say the whole thing's been a walk in the park. Indeed, Brown says that while selling businesses on the GA's unique blend of community advocacy and public relations has proven a boon, bolstering their consumer base -- members pay $35 a year for a "green card," which affords them discounts at all 100 businesses -- remains the organization's biggest challenge.

"It's funny, because a lot of people have heard of us, they just don't quite understand what we do," she says. "They don't know that they can make back their Green Card consumer membership money in a few visits to, say, the Portsmouth Brewery. So that's where our focus is right now, on the community education aspect of it, on getting individuals to understand that if they support green they shouldn't just sit on the sidelines and admire what we are doing from a distance but that they should become card-carrying citizen members of the Green Alliance."

Brown says that by growing both the GA's business and consumer member ranks, a kind of mutually-reinforcing dynamic is fostered; the more businesses that join, the more opportunities there are for consumer members to save; while the more consumer members that sign up, the more incentive there is for prospective businesses to enter the fray.

Key to this strategy has been an emphasis on a broad scope of sustainable businesses. Consumers can wrap their head around the green aspects of a solar energy company or a restaurant with strong ties to local producers. But a green dentist? A green insurance company?

Between Newmarket Dental and Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance, the GA has them both, and both have found in the GA a unique way to leverage an increasingly discerning customer base.

"Basically my business is saving over $20,000 a year on marketing and advertising through our GA membership," says Newmarket Dental's Nathan Swanson. "And I know their PR and promotional efforts are working because I see new Green Cards every month -- new customers that stay on in part because of the discounts and additionally because of our commitment to sustainability."

Brian Yurick, owner of Home Town Technology Consultants, the GA's newly anointed 100th Business Partner, says part of the appeal of joining the intrepid organization centered around a "shared small business perspective," where a combination of strength in numbers and economies of scale can help local economies not only survive, but thrive.

"The best part about the Green Alliance is that even though I'm not their only client, they make me feel that I am," says Yurick. "They're like my own personal PR firm and local advocate, and to the extent that I try to bring that same level of trust and service to my clients, I know I made the right choice to join."

For the time being, the GA doesn't have any plans to celebrate their now triple digit ranks, no parties or self-given pats on the back. Instead, Brown intends to use the accomplishment as little more than motivational momentum, a fleeting carrot pointing to greener pastures.

"We're definitely proud, and we might indulge in a celebratory lunch one of these days," exclaims Brown. "But we're already thinking about that next Business Partner, those next dozen consumer members -- that critical mass that will help take green commerce to the next level here on the Seacoast."

To join the Green Alliance or to learn more visit www.greenalliance.biz.

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